


Five Thousand Paces

by Ratlochet_1472



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: And Then She Returns The Favor To Get Even, But That Means She's Finally Noticed Alex, But When She Gets Nailed In The Back Of The Head With a Gridball It Gets Her Attention, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Once You Get Past The Ego That Is, Romance, Smut, Who Is Such A Giant Puppy In This Fic, You're Even Luckier If You Find Her With Them On And She'll Actually Talk To You, You're Lucky To Find OC Without Her Headphones, all of the fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 06:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14302482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ratlochet_1472/pseuds/Ratlochet_1472
Summary: When Jaiyana moves to the valley, she doesn't remember the childhood summers she spent there nor the friend she used to spend them with. Well, Alex remembers her, and he's determined to reunite with her. His only problem is that she never gives him the time of day. She sometimes waves, she rarely says hello, and she never stops to talk... even when he's standing there tossing his gridball! How is a man supposed to make a friend with someone so anti-social that they never even take their headphones off?!Set in Jaiyana's perspective, this fic captures Alex's attempts to win his childhood-friend-turned-crush's attention, and what happens when he succeeds.





	Five Thousand Paces

I glanced over, waiting for the lone car on the road to drop back before speeding up a touch and switching into the correct lane. As I steered my motorcycle onto the off ramp I couldn't help taking one last peek at the car I'd been driving with for over 20 miles now, and watch them speed into the distance.

I felt like that car symbolized the life I was leaving behind. A straight track forward, with nothing interesting, nothing new. Just a Joja drone. That's why I needed to leave that life.

As the off ramp led me to dusty, deserted roads, I reflected back on my life with System Of A Down playing in my ears. It was just a week ago that I had been dancing in my cramped apartment to this same song, trying to forget about the frustrations of my stagnant, perpetually boring life, when I'd bumped into the mantle of the fireplace. The small tremor was enough to make the unstable thing wobble alarmingly, and the motion made one of my picture frames fall over and reveal grandpa's letter.

That same night I had looked up the number of the Mayor for the town and called to let him know that I was claiming the farm. I packed my things, had them sent ahead of me... and now I was here, coughing on dust clouds as I slowed to a stop at the bus stop.

It might have been a good idea to ask the Mayor how to get around... I didn't even know where my farm was. I didn't know how to farm. Was it such a good idea to start a new life with only 500 gold to my name?

Worries and unanswered questions clouded my thoughts and darkened my mood considerably as I turned my motorcycle off, flipped the kickstand out, and then climbed off. I just tried to focus on the Five Finger Death Punch song that had started playing from my mp3 player and convince myself that if I had my music, I could get through anything. The convincing wasn't working.

I struggled with the straps I'd used to tie down my bulging messenger bag, scowling at it and muttering under my breath the longer it took. One of the ratty, frayed cuffs of my hoodie got caught on one of the buckles, and then I had to rip another hole into it when I yanked it away.

Just when I thought I'd have to cut the damn straps they came free... and my messenger bag went sailing towards the ground. That is, until a calloused, yet slender hand caught it.

I recoiled a couple steps, eyes landing on a red-haired woman who looked to be in her forties. And then her mouth started moving. Great. Because when I was in a bad mood, losing my music is exactly what I wanted to do. I pushed my headphones off my head, unable to hide the irritation in my eyes at having Five Finger Death Punch interrupted. If she wasn't careful _she_ would get a five finger death punch.

"Er..." she finally realized I hadn't been able to hear her previously, and scrambled to recover and start again. "Hi, and welcome to the valley. I'm Robin... Mayor Lewis sent me to retrieve you." _Retrieve_ me?

"Okay." I moved to take my bag from her, only to have her hoist it over her shoulder and motion for me to follow her. "So uh--!" she started quickly when I reached up for my headphones. "I'm afraid we didn't catch your name!" "Jaiyana." "Oh, well that's a gorgeous name." Her smile faltered when I just nodded once.

"You're very pretty." Without make up and in literally the rattiest clothes I owned? I doubted that. I must have looked skeptical because she laughed loudly and clapped her hand on my shoulder. "I think you'll get along great with my son, Sebastian. You two are a lot alike."

"Cool." I pulled my headphones back on then, halting any other conversation. Until we got to the house. Not only did I have to be led to the wasteland of a farm that sprawled out in front of me as far as the eye could see, but the Mayor was _in_ my house. Unnerving didn't even begin to cover it.

Of course he too started talking as soon as he strolled out, and I was forced to take my headphones off again. I noticed him frown as I did.

"Ah, there's our new farmer!" he exclaimed again once he recovered, bumbling his way down the steps. "Her name's Jaiyana," Robin offered up. "Isn't she pretty?" "Yes, she's absolutely gorgeous. She reminds me so much of her grandfather." "I'm standing right here." They laughed then, and I was left feeling more irritated than I had been previously. "And she's got a sense of humor!"

Clearly they didn't need my input in their conversation, so I pulled my headphones back on and took my messenger bag back while they chatted. I wandered inside the little cabin, and noticed that the small amount of personal belongings I had were still in their various containers, and in a small stack next to the bed. At least they'd left that well enough alone.

A stove sat in the corner that smelled of cleaning solution. The fireplace looked freshly cleaned out, and a small pile of wood sat next to it. The floor didn't look to be in _complete_ ruin, and the windows were fairly clear.

There was a small, pretty rickety looking table and a single chair, but the table stood up to the wobbling test and so did the chair. There was a small welcome mat by the door. A peek in the bathroom indicated that it had been cleaned half decent as well, and when I sat down on the bed, I could immediately tell that the sheets and the mattress were fairly new, and clean. I was starting to feel a little bad about how quick I was to judge the Mayor for being in my house.

A vibration against the floor made me raise my head just in time to see Lewis put his foot down. Had he... stomped to get my attention? That was actually kind of cool. I pushed my headphones down. "What do you think?" "It's bigger than my old apartment," I shrugged. After a moment I added quietly, "Thank you."

Lewis smiled warmly at me. I doubt it took a mind reader to figure out what I was thanking him for. "It's the least I could do. Everyone deserves a good start in life, and I know your family hasn't always had it easy. That's why I'm adding an extra 250 G to whatever you brought here, and this."

He placed a package down on the table with the money on top. "I want you to find your feet. Don't let me find out that you spent this money all on KTunes cards... or whatever you kids call them."

"No sir." I gave him the faintest smile. "I won't." "Now _that's_ the little girl I remember visiting the farm." I couldn't hide my surprise. "You... remember me?" "Of course I do!" he chuckled. "Sweetest little thing you were, running around with your hair pulled up in two big curly poofs. You'd spend hours playing with the chickens, or making mud pies at the stream with Alex. He really missed you when you left."

"Alex," I echoed, testing the name on my tongue. "I... don't really remember anything about coming here. I was too young." "Oh, you two got along like a house on fire. He still lives here, you know! Maybe you'll have to rekindle that old friendship." "Yeah, maybe."

"Well, I'll let you get settled in. If you need anything don't hesitate to come to either of us, alright?" When I gave a nod he smiled at me. "Good luck."

I waited until a little while after they were gone before I finally got up to get to work. The first thing I did was go out and retrieve my motorcycle, since Robin hadn't given me a chance earlier.

I wheeled it over to a small space at some bushes around the side of my house, and deemed it well enough "parked". Maybe I'd have to see about Robin building a garage extension onto my house someday. But for now I needed to unpack.

At first unpacking was tedious. Thankfully I'd brought the shelves I'd had in my old place or I never would have had any room for anything. My sparse collection of dishes had to go on two small shelves, stacked precariously. Thankfully my silverware holders could fit on the narrow space at the top of the stove.

I put my guitar at the end of my bed on it's stand, and ditched my case in the small closet I hadn't checked. Lewis had even cleaned in there, judging by the lack of cobwebs.

Once all the delicates were set up and I wasn't hammering nails into walls, it didn't take me long to start jamming out to some Three Days Grace. It made it so much easier to put my clothes away, set up my small collection of knick knacks, and hang up posters from my favorite bands and video games. By the time I was done the cabin actually looked pretty nice. Of course it would have looked nicer with my rug, but since that had gotten dirty during transit I couldn't have that quite yet.

By the time I saw the light of day again there was barely any light left. And I used much of it to painstakingly clean out my rug. But with the remaining half an hour or so left, I found myself unwrapping the package Mayor Lewis had given me. As soon as I saw the map on top I took off.

I set out on the path at the top of my farm, determined to explore a little of the surrounding area. But exploring led to following the sound of muttering and mechanical tinkering.

When I slowly ambled up to Robin's house I found someone under their motorcycle, working on it. And then they reached out and fumbled for a tool that was _just_ out of reach. They looked like they were just about to have to slide out and retrieve it themselves when I nudged it in their direction. First their hand made contact with my boot... and then the tool. "Thanks."

They took it, and worked for a second. I waited for it to process. Finally they questioned, "Mom?" and I snorted. "You're not _my_ kid."

Dear Yoba, the guy that slid out from under his motorcycle looked like me during my emo phase. But he was kinda attractive beyond the massive amount of black fringe hanging over his face. "Oh... you're the new farmer, aren't you?" "Jaiyana," I agreed with a nod. His eyes flitted down to my neck. "Nice headphones."

"Thanks." For a moment everything was silent. Finally I raised my eyebrows at him, and his furrowed. "Oh. Right. I'm Sebastian." "Ohh, _you're_ him." "What's that supposed to mean?" I couldn't help smirking at the tone of his voice.

"Your mom mentioned you." "Oh." "Said we'd get along great." "... _Oh_." My smirk widened. "Yep, she was out playing the field for her son." He made a face and rolled back under his motorcycle. "I don't need friends _nor_ a relationship, but thanks." A bark of a laugh escaped me. "Who said I was offering either?" There was a pause in tinkering. "...Fair enough."

"Just answer me one thing?" He peeked out at me. "Who's Alex?" He snorted. "Why would you want to know that idiot?" I couldn't help the frown that formed. Who exactly was Mayor Lewis trying to set me up with? " _Is_ he an idiot? I wouldn't know; I haven't met him yet." "The only thing that guy cares about is his ego, and gridball. You'd do well to stay away from him. He wears a green jacket and a smirk." "Good to know. Thanks."

With our conversation ground to a halt I turned on my heel and continued on my merry way, exploring around the lake. I didn't get far though, with the rockslide in the way. So I made my way down to the common area above the town.

I couldn't tell all that well in the dark, but it looked pretty nice. Very quaint. From the cliff I had a view of someone's dirty trailer though, and that didn't look so quaint. I made a mental note to stay as far away from there as possible and wandered over to the fountain to use the lights around it to read my map.

Technically I could have gone back the way I came, but there was another entrance to my farm down the path from the fountain, just past the stairs. There's no way I could miss it... right? Not when I had a map.

Well I did. Somehow. And I spent many minutes wandering around in the dark before I finally cut my losses and headed for the one building that was actually lit up. I cringed as soon as I saw the word "saloon" on the sign.

The country music was loud and gaudy to match the theme of the establishment, but there weren't many people. Which meant it didn't take long at all for the few there to spot me. "Ah, come in, come in! You must be the new farmer!" "Hey, kid! What are you doing in here, shouldn't you be out farming?" "Oh, Pam, she's probably tired from the traveling it took to get here. Come, sit down. What can I get you?"

The spotlight that had been put on me was overwhelming. "I just--came in for some help," I stammered awkwardly. "I'm tired and can't seem to find my way home... even with a map." I must have looked startled or overwhelmed because the bar tender's smile softened considerably.

"You leave here, take a straight shot that way," he pointed, "And then follow the fence of the garden. From there you'll see the path to the bus stop; that'll get you home." "Thanks."

My cheeks were burning as I made a hasty exit, jamming my headphones back on as I did. I vowed to myself then that I wasn't going back in that place _ever_ again.

His directions worked, though. I followed the fence until it dropped off, and from there I was just barely able to see the path to the bus stop... and home. I wouldn't say I _ran_ , but I definitely hustled my way home. I was _not_ in the mood to be out in the dark any longer than I had to be.

It was only when I closed my front door and was met with an equally dark house that I realized I didn't know how to work the fireplace. _Great._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a short and sweet introduction to Jaiyana's story. I'm already working on the next chapter (which will be longer, as will all future chapters), so stay tuned!


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